The Las Vegas Raiders suffered a disappointing defeat against the Los Angeles Chargers at home in Week 2. They'll need to rebound quickly, however, as they'll travel back to the East Coast for the second time already this season to take on the Washington Commanders on a short week.
After a dominant performance on opening weekend, the Commanders sputtered a bit against a great Green Bay Packers defense on Thursday Night Football. They also lost starting running back Austin Ekeler and defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr. to season-ending injuries, which were big losses.
But another devastating blow hit the Commanders on Monday morning, as it was announced that star second-year quarterback Jayden Daniels was dealing with a knee sprain and his status for Week 3 against the Raiders was in doubt.
Raiders likely to face Marcus Mariota in Week 3 matchup vs. Commanders
While nobody is cheering for an injury, this is a somewhat fortunate break for Las Vegas, getting to play a backup quarterback. Thrust into the starting lineup will be none other than Marcus Mariota, a former Raider who certainly has his eyes set on revenge.
Mariota signed a two-year, $17.6 million deal that included $7.5 million guaranteed with the Raiders under head coach Jon Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock during the 2020 offseason. A contract of this size and with those guarantees would typically indicate a solid role for a player.
But Mariota played in just one game for Las Vegas in 2020, replacing an injured Derek Carr against the Los Angeles Chargers. He began the year on IR, to be fair, but he was cleared to play after just five games. Yet, he did not appear in a contest until Week 15.
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He completed 17 of 28 passes for 226 yards, a touchdown and an interception in that game, and he ran 9 times for 88 yards and a touchdown. The following year, in 10 appearances, he was just 1-for-1 for 4 yards and ran the ball 13 times for 87 yards and a touchdown.
Even though he played well, Mariota turned out to be a massive waste of money for Las Vegas because they failed to use him adequately. He did enough to earn a starting job with the Atlanta Falcons in 2022, but has since been relegated to a permanent backup role.
Mariota has the opportunity, however, to get a bit of revenge on the Raiders this week for the way they pushed him aside in 2020 and 2021. He has always been a solid NFL quarterback, but if Las Vegas drops a game to a backup that has not started since 2023, it will be utterly humiliating.